Hello everyone,

I'm 24 and I'm from NYC. My husband got banded back in April of this year, and has so far lost 65 lbs. I'm now thinking of doing it myself, however I'm not quite eligible to have insurance cover the cost (the insurance covered my husbands) and am thinking of having it done in Mexico specifically with Dr. Ortiz. I don't know much about it, so if anyone has done it down in Mexico with him, and has some information, I'd greatly appreciate it. (cost, phone numbers etc.)

I have a few questions as well:

In Mexico, do they offer the wider band (my husband has that one and I like the sound of that one better) or do they only use the older narrow band?

How long must I wait to get pregnant again after surgery. Also, what's it like being pregnant WITH the band? Does throwing up from morning sickness have an effect? Can that cause slippage?

Also, does anyone here know if Dr Ren/Fielding in NYC will do the fills for a band done in Mexico?

Finally, does Dr. Ortiz offer any kind of financing?

Thanks in advance for any info you guys may have!

I just had my surgery done by Dr. Ren and my insurance covered the whole thing. If it covered your husband, why not you?

I'm not eligible to be covered by insurance because I'm not heavy enough.

I was doing some research and came across Dr. Kirshenbaum in Denver. He is an alternative to Mexico which is great because I was skepticle about going out of the country to get surgery.

If anyone had their surgery done by Dr. kirshenbaum, I would love to get feedback from you.

I have Oxford that has an automatic approval if you have a BMI of 40 or 35 with co-morbidities. I had a BMI of 5 when I started and was in perfect health. While I saw the psychologist and got my papers in order I gained some weight. When I had a BMI of 37 I went to the surgeons office to meet with the nutritionist and see the nurse practitioner who gave me a kind-a-physical and weighed me. You see some people say to wear weights but at the initial visit they check you (measure etc) so it is hard to hide the weights. At that visit because I did not weigh enough we discussed self-pay or my gaining some more weight. I made an appointment to meet the surgeon as if I was self-pay and said that if by the time I had the appointment I did not gain enough then I would pay. It was at that meeting, when you meet the surgeon, that all they do is weigh you. Needless to say I was quite nervous but I hid 10 lb weight in my bra and my BMI was 41! I was accepted by my insurance and had the surgery 2 weeks later. Anyway, I am less than a week pre-op and am happy to share my story with you.